Enrollment
205
Iowa · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Belle Plaine, IA
Belle Plaine Jr/Sr High School
Federal NCES profile for Belle Plaine Jr/Sr High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 49/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 190462000124
👥 S:T ratio 57
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 32
📋 Attendance 37
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Belle Plaine Jr/Sr High School earns 49/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 88% of Iowa schools.
- 49
- Resource Index · Higher
- 10.8:1
- small classes for Iowa
- 25.4%
- free-lunch eligible
- 205
- students enrolled
Belle Plaine Jr/Sr High School has class sizes smaller than 88% of Iowa schools. Computed live against every Iowa school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Belle Plaine Comm School District · Iowa
NCES ID 190462000124 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
19.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
10.8:1
vs 14.8:1 Iowa avg
-27% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
25.4%
vs 36.4% Iowa avg
-30% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Belle Plaine Jr/Sr High School compares with Iowa and U.S. medians
What stands out at Belle Plaine Jr/Sr High School
Belle Plaine Jr/Sr High School is a mid-sized combined-grade school in Belle Plaine, Iowa, enrolling 205 students.
Classes run notably small here: at 10.8:1, Belle Plaine Jr/Sr High School is leaner than roughly 88% of Iowa schools and 27% under the state's 14.8:1 norm, more adult attention per pupil than most peers.
Economic need runs somewhat below the state's typical profile, with 25.4% of students eligible for free meals.
Enrollment of 205 puts it in the smaller third of Iowa schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 1,322 scored Iowa schools.
Against 326 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #213.
Its student body is predominantly White (94% of enrollment) (diversity index 12/100).
Counselor availability sits well past the ASCA benchmark, roughly 342 students sharing each counselor, though short of the most stretched campuses.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 25.4% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Among Belle Plaine's public schools, it stands alongside Longfellow Elementary School (267 students): Belle Plaine Jr/Sr High School is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (10.8:1 vs 14.1:1).
Its district, Belle Plaine Comm School District, also runs Longfellow Elementary School (267 students).
Sourced from NCES CCD, CRDC, and F-33 (federal records, not a quality verdict). How we source and compute this.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25
How Belle Plaine Jr/Sr High School compares
Belle Plaine Jr/Sr High School on the metrics families compare, against Iowa and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Iowa | Iowa avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 10.8:1 | ▼ 27% | 14.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 25.4% | ▼ 30% | 36.4% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 205 | top 75% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
10.8:1
Leaner classes than 84% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
205
Bigger than 20% of US schools by enrollment, a small campus.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
25.4%
free-lunch eligible
- 30% below the Iowa average of 36.4%
Below the 40% Title I threshold; federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
10.8:1
students per teacher
- 27% below state mean
Top 12% in Iowa - lower ratio than 88% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
25.4%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
At or above 20%, the commonly used threshold for "high" chronic absenteeism, signaling significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$13,117
per pupil, district-wide
- above Iowa avg of $12,854
Well below the U.S. average per-pupil spend, a notably leaner funding position that may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors0.6 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Discipline context
21
in-school suspensions + 1 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 10.2 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 10.7 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
- Common Core of Data (June 2026): enrollment, staffing, and the student-teacher ratio above.
- Civil Rights Data Collection: discipline counts and program access (AP, gifted, special education).
- F-33 School District Finance Survey: the district-wide per-pupil spending figures below.
Three separate federal collections, each on its own reporting cadence - which is why this school's numbers line up on a consistent basis against every other school and state on this site, rather than mixing figures pulled from different survey years.
Student demographics
White 93.7%
Two or More 2.9%
African American 1.5%
Hispanic or Latino 1.5%
Asian 0.5%
Largest group: White at 93.7% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 12.1/100
Simpson diversity index - at 12.1, Belle Plaine Jr/Sr High School is less mixed than the Iowa school average of 33.8.
Programs
AP courses offered 1
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Belle Plaine Comm School District, which includes Belle Plaine Jr/Sr High School.
$13,117
Per student
+2%
vs Iowa
Avg $12,854
-21%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 43.8%
State 45.2%
Federal 11.0%
Source: NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey District-level finance · FY 2021-22 Per-pupil expenditure reflects the district-wide average. Individual school budgets are not reported at the federal level.
How Belle Plaine Jr/Sr High School Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Longfellow Elementary School | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Belle Plaine Jr/Sr High School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 267
- Students per teacher
- 14.1:1
- Resource Index
- 40/100
Similar other schools in Belle Plaine
1 comparable other schools (grades Mixed) serving the same city.
Similar other schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Iowa, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~205 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~10.8:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Belle Plaine Jr/Sr High School's federal record.
- Compare Belle Plaine Jr/Sr High School against another school. Compare schools
- Belle Plaine Comm School District's spending and staffing shape this school. District profile
- Confirm current enrollment and boundaries with the school. Choosing guide
Federal record (CCD 2024-25, CRDC 2021-22) - PlainSchools assigns no subjective rating; the composite quality score is a transparent, reproducible index computed from this cited federal data.
Frequently asked questions about Belle Plaine Jr/Sr High School
How many students attend Belle Plaine Jr/Sr High School?
Belle Plaine Jr/Sr High School has 205 students enrolled. It is a public school in Belle Plaine, IA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Belle Plaine Jr/Sr High School?
The student-teacher ratio at Belle Plaine Jr/Sr High School is 10.8:1, which is 27% lower than the Iowa average of 14.8:1 and 31% lower than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Belle Plaine Jr/Sr High School?
25.4% of students at Belle Plaine Jr/Sr High School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Iowa average of 36.4%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Belle Plaine Jr/Sr High School?
The largest demographic group at Belle Plaine Jr/Sr High School is White at 93.7% of enrollment, in Belle Plaine, IA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Belle Plaine Jr/Sr High School?
Belle Plaine Jr/Sr High School has a Resource Investment Index of 49/100 (higher reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, AP course offerings, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
Is Belle Plaine Jr/Sr High School a good school?
Belle Plaine Jr/Sr High School earns 49/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 88% of Iowa schools. This is a resource snapshot, not an academic rating; see the Resource Investment Index question above for what the number does and doesn't measure.
What other schools are in Belle Plaine Comm School District?
Besides Belle Plaine Jr/Sr High School, Belle Plaine Comm School District also operates Longfellow Elementary School (267 students). See the Belle Plaine Comm School District district page for the complete list.
Related tools
Every figure on PlainSchools is rendered directly from the source NCES, CRDC and F-33 federal records, no number is typed in by an editor. Each school's figures reflect its most recent NCES/CRDC submission on file. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of June 2026.